This is Awkward: Canadian PM’s Visit Comes Just Weeks After House Dems Stood with Obama to Block Keystone
FYI, a similar version of this release below went out to the following districts: George Badey (PA-07), Ami Bera (CA-07), Kathy Boockvar (PA-08), Bruce Braley (IA-01), Ben Chandler (KY-06), Andrei Cherny (AZ-09), David Cicilline (RI-01), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), David Crooks (IN-08), John Delaney (MD-06), Pete Gallego (TX-23), Rob Garagiola (MD-06), John Garamendi (CA-03), Raul Grijalva (AZ-07), Pam Gulleson (ND-AL), Clark Hall (AR-01), Jose Hernandez (CA-10), Jim Himes (CT-04), Paul Hirschbiel (VA-02), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Q. Byrum Hurst (AR-04), Bill Keating (MA-09), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01), Pat Kreitlow (WI-07), David Loebsack (IA-02), Larry Maggi (PA-18), Gary McDowell (MI-01), Jerry McNerney (CA-09), Michael Michaud (ME-02), Joe Milkosi (CO-06), Brendan Mullen (IN-02), John Oceguera (NV-03), Sal Pace (CO-03), Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Nick Rahall (WV-03), Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23), Brandon Shaffer (CO-04), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09), Betty Sutton (OH-16), John Tierney (MA-06), Manan Trivedi (PA-06), Niki Tsongas (MA-03), Christie Vilsack (IA-04), Bill Vinsko (PA-11), Jamie Wall (WI-08), Charlie Wilson (OH-06), John Yarmuth (KY-03)
Kentucky Democrat Voted to Reaffirm President Obama’s Decision to Block Keystone Pipeline Jobs & Energy Less Than Two Months Ago
WASHINGTON — As President Obama meets with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper today, the rather awkward subject of how Ben Chandler and his fellow Washington Democrats continue to stand in the way of the Keystone XL pipeline project is almost sure to come up. Despite the uproar caused by President Obama’s rejection of the Keystone pipeline permit, Chandler actually voted to reaffirm that decision less than two months ago (Roll Call #71, 2/16/12) instead of recognizing that voters want the manufacturing jobs and energy independence this project would provide.
“Ben Chandler had another chance after President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline’s jobs and energy independence, and he chose once again to pander to the Democrats’ radical anti-energy donors by voting against the pipeline,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay. “Chandler’s efforts only managed to portray the United States as anti-business and anti-energy while pushing these potential manufacturing jobs and energy independence away to countries like China.”
When Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visits President Obama at the White House today, the subject of the rejected Keystone XL pipeline is sure to come up:
“On the energy front, Canada, the world’s 10th-largest economy, is planning to sell more oil and gas to Asia after Obama denied a permit for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would deliver 700,000 barrels a day of crude from Alberta’s oil sands to U.S. refineries near the Gulf of Mexico.”
(Roger Runningen, “Obama Hosts Calderon, Harper to Boost N. American Economy,” Bloomberg, 4/2/12)The rejection of the Keystone pipeline remains very unpopular: